" My Connections to Play"
"Play is the highest expression of human development in childhood, for it alone is the free expression of what is in a child's soul." Friedrich Froebel (Founder of the concept of kindergarten)
"In Our Play We Reveal What Kind of people We Are." Ovid (Roman Poet)
"Play is the highest form of research. Albert Einstein (Scientist)
My Essential Play Items As A Child
Bed Sheets- Although this is not my brother and I, We spent may hours with our cousins pretending to be in tents outside camping, at war hiding from the soldiers or simply in a castle. We would place the bed sheets over the tops of our bed post and we would be anywhere in the world that we wanted. My mom would sometimes let us keep the sheets on top of the bed post all night! What great Fun!
Towels- As you can see they are of many colors, these I would place on my head and pretend I had hair like the movie stars on TV. I spent hours doing this, I could be any movie star I wanted and have their hair color.
Clothing Catalog- This was my favorite toy as a child. I would look through the catalog and cut out pictures and use the as paper dolls. I would cut out women, men and children and create families. I would give them different types of careers and hobbies. I would find pictures of appliances, toys, etc. and say these were the families' items. I was always excited when my mom got new catalogs in the mail. She would never make a fuss when she went to look for a certain page to order something and it was gone.
People Who Supported Me In Play
My Sister Beverly, She always encouraged me to pretend to be something I saw on television that really excited me. She loved the famous stars as I did. She would encourage me to pretend that towels were hair or that robes were beautiful gowns or the kitchen slightly changed was an elegant ball room or a stage.
My sister Jackie- I remember crying because I did not have anyone to play with, I would play fantasy play a lot. But one day I really wanted someone to play with and my cousins were not around, and my brother had made friends with the neighborhood kids. My sister walked me down to her friends house introduced me to her little sister and sat there why we played for hours. She encouraged me and showed me how to play cooperatively.
My Mom- She encouraged the Fantasy Play. She never fussed when she went to her favorite catalog to order something and the page wasn't there because I had made paper doll families from the images. Thanks Mom!!
Play Yesterday and Today
Play of yesterday allowed for more creativity for children, for example, I loved to play dress up by putting on different color hair. My hair was different color towels. Today children have different color wigs they can purchase from the toy store. I made paper dolls from magazine photos, parents are buying pre-made paper dolls from stores. I feel as though children creativity for play is being stifled. It is my hope that parents, teachers and extended family would encourage children to play by providing them with the time and space to do so.
Play and My Life
I just realized through this course what a major influence play has had on my life. It is because of being allowed to play and learn through play that I have become a teacher. It is because of play that I teach classes at my church that pertain to creative ways to teach the Bible to children. Because of play, I create bulletin board for people that reflect the occasion they are having. Play has been a great teacher.
